Angel Series Books 1-3 Boxed Set

Chance Encounter

Chance Encounter

I stood up and turned around slowly until I’d completed a three-sixty, then sighed.

“Which way do I go?”

I had no idea what direction I was facing, and where it would take me. There did seem to be a slight incline in one direction, which would be the safest bet for steering clear of civilisation, but possibly not the best choice for finding water. I’d need water. That was the deciding factor for me. I would head in the opposite direction to the incline until I found water. Hopefully I’d find something edible along the way as well.

I set off on my chosen path. Thank goodness I’d had the sense to put on the new running shoes Danny had left for me before I’d offended his sensibilities. They weren’t the best type of footwear for this terrain, but they were a vast improvement on the sandals I’d been wearing the night I’d been changed.

Has it really only been two days since I thought I was a goner? Apart from my fingertips — the red was starting to fade — and the vomiting, which could have been attributed to severe food poisoning, nothing had really changed for me. Yes, I still felt incredibly hungry, yet who wouldn’t if they hadn’t eaten properly in days. Yes, I had been able to throw Danny off me, but that could have been due to an adrenaline rush. So how was it that Danny was so sure I was some sort of monster? Why had I been duped into believing him?

Because you’re scared it’s true!

The forest was very quiet, although I did catch a glimpse of some small animals scurrying in the opposite direction to where I was headed. Forests were not something I’d spent much time in, being a city girl, and I didn’t know if the silence was normal or not. Perhaps if the atmosphere had felt peaceful and tranquil, the silence would have seemed more natural. Instead there was a palpable tension in the air, as if the trees were holding their breath, if such a thing was possible. I shivered.

The silence was eerie. There should have been some forest sounds. After all, what was a forest, but a city for animals? Could they — the animals — sense I was different? Is that why they hurried elsewhere, remaining as quiet as possible? Were they afraid of attracting my attention? I was more afraid of them, and of running into a wild animal that might attack me.

I still had so many questions going through my mind about what I was, what I’d become, and my only source of information had cast me out. The reaction of the animals now posed another question.

Danny casting me out of the cottage is just like Michael casting out Satan. That was who it was, wasn’t it, who cast out Satan? I was sure I’d heard it was Michael.

Perhaps I deserved this. Sin was in my nature, saintliness was not. Maybe as a sinner I’d got what I deserved. If my circumstances had been different — if I hadn’t been abandoned at an early age — it’s feasible I may have turned out different. So was it nurture rather than nature? Possibly. I couldn’t turn back the clock, couldn’t change the past. I could only make the best of a bad situation.

I kept walking in as straight a line as possible, taking into account all the trees I had to navigate around and the fallen branches I had to climb over. There were no tracks to indicate hikers came this way. That was a good sign. It meant I was on the right track, so to speak. My main priorities were to find food, water and shelter. Doubt began to creep in. What the heck was I doing? Danny had me so confused.

Forget about Danny and focus, Helena. Find a water source. The other two can wait for a while. Yep, water was essential.

I stopped to listen. If there was a river, creek or waterfall nearby I should be able to hear it — nothing. Maybe I could smell water instead, like being able to smell when it’s about to rain. I sniffed the air and the scents of the forest assailed my nostrils. I could smell the vitality of the trees, the cleanness of the air, the decomposing leaves under my feet and the animals’ droppings. There were others smells as well, many of which I couldn’t identify — a few sickly-sweet — bombarding me from all directions, but water was not one of them.

It was strange how vivid each of the scents was. Perhaps it was the result of being in fresh, unpolluted air. I found myself taking deeps breaths through my nose, trying to identify every individual scent.

Stop it. Use your ears, not your nose.

I continued walking and allowed my sense of hearing to range outwards. I tried to rely on my nose as little as possible. The sickly-sweet smell was becoming overbearing, almost to the point of making me nauseous.

In the distance I could hear the sounds of a ferocious fight. The snarling and growling, interspersed with yowls of pain, echoed throughout the forest. They sounded like big animals, not the little creatures I’d seen scurrying away from me. I shivered slightly, more so at the images my imagination conjured up for me, to accompany the cacophony. I’d never heard sounds like that before. They were frightening.

I hesitated. There was no way I wanted to end up in the middle of a fight, or worse, as a meal for a pack of wild animals. As I tried to decide which way would be the best direction to take — to give the fight a wide berth — I heard a distressed howl, then silence. Everything was quiet again.

I angled off to the left, not wanting a chance encounter with whatever animals had been involved in the fight. If I was lucky they were busy eating their prey and wouldn’t catch sight or scent of me.

My decision had been a good one. Within half an hour I heard the faint sound of water, and it was this sound I followed, until I reached a grassy clearing divided near enough through the middle by a shallow brook.

I looked around cautiously from the cover of the trees. A number of trees had fallen down at some time, fashioning this small glade. Most of the wood had rotted away and only a few stumps remained.

Not seeing or hearing anything out of the ordinary, I ventured out into the small patch of sunshine. The sun felt good on my face and its warmth made me realise how cold I’d been, travelling in the gloom of the forest.

I knelt by the brook and splashed my face with water. It was icy cold and I gasped involuntarily. I wiped my face on the sleeve of my jumper, closed my eyes and raised my face to the sun again, soaking up the warmth and waiting for feeling to return to my numb nose. It was then I sensed something was watching me.

My heart should have been pounding in my chest with fear, but it wasn’t. My stomach should have been in knots, but it wasn’t. I was strangely calm and serene. For all I knew it was a predatory animal, come to eat or drink — perhaps both. The thought didn’t bother me as it had when I’d heard the growling and snarls earlier on. I should be scared, but I wasn’t.

Surely it was Danny who was watching me. It was the only explanation for my lack of fear. On some subconscious level I must have known I wasn’t in any danger.

“You can come out, Danny,” I said.

I cupped my hands and lowered them into the icy water. I heard the sound of soft footsteps behind me. Yes, footsteps — two legs, not four. So it was Danny!

I quenched my thirst with the water. It had an odd metallic aftertaste. Perhaps the brook was fed by a mineral spring. I filled my hands twice more before the thirst gave way to pain.

I wrapped my arms around my abdomen and moaned, doubling over in pain.

Not again.

Danny made no move to assist me and I leaned away from the brook as the heaving began. The pain was not as sharp as it had been when I’d eaten the burger, but it was unpleasant nonetheless. The water must’ve been polluted, and my body, being weak, was reacting to it.

Tears welled up in my eyes, my nose began to run, and my cheeks were aflame. The heaving continued and there was nothing I could do but ride it out, taking quick breaths in-between.

Eventually the heaving subsided and I collapsed on my side, exhausted. Lack of food and good clean water — along with all the exercise trekking through the forest — was taking its toll on me. I needed to rest.

The sun disappeared momentarily as a shadow passed over me. I heard Danny kneel down beside me and felt his icy fingers grip my arm through the jumper. His hands were colder than mine and I shivered. Yesterday — or was it the day before — they had been so warm. Could his mood affect his body temperature? Warm when he was content and happy, cold when he was angry.

“Danny, I’m sorry,” I whispered hoarsely.

I opened my eyes and turned my head to look at him. He was positioned so that the sun was in my eyes and I couldn’t see his face properly. I moved my head so it was in shadow again. I needed to see if there was anger, or worse yet, violence in his face.

The shock of seeing someone else’s face caused me to gasp, and in that sharp intake of breath I smelled something sickly-sweet in the air.

He smiled at me. His teeth were dazzling white and perfectly straight — too perfect. He must have spent a lot of money to get them to look like that.

“Hello,” he said, “what have we here?”

“I’m lost,” I replied. What other explanation could I give for being out here?

“So it would appear. Bad for you,” he grinned devilishly, “good for me.”

I struggled to sit up and tried to shuffle backwards. There must be a sizable rock or piece of wood nearby that I could use as a weapon.

“Not so fast,” he said, grabbing both my arms.

He placed his cheek against mine and took in a deep breath through his nose. He moved his cheek down my jaw line to my neck, continuing to breathe in through his nose. I could feel his breath on my neck as he exhaled, and I had the distinct impression of déjà vu.

“Exquisite,” he said, pulling back to look at me. “But what are you? No mortal ever smelled like this. Could you be an ally of the wolf we hunted? Were you sent to distract us?”

He squeezed my arms and shook me roughly, then laughed.

“No matter. You, my pretty, are too late. My companions are taking care of the problem as I speak. So, what to do with you? No, that’s not right, I know what to do with you,” he laughed. I didn’t like the way he said he knew what to do with me. “What I want, before I do it, is to find out what you are and exactly who sent you.”

The feeling of déjà vu solidified into something more tangible — vampire.

“I know what you are,” I said, “and I know what you’re going to do to me. Take your best shot,” I sneered in an attempt to sound unafraid, “you’re not the first.”

“What do you mean, not the first?”

That little snippet of information clearly intrigued him and I took advantage of his curiosity to buy myself some time.

“I’ve been bitten before, and lived to tell the tale.” I felt a surge of hope and pushed on with the bravado, forcing a smile to my lips. “Do you think you’ll be so lucky?”

“Hah! There’s no mark on you.”

I lifted my left hand and looked to my fingertips. His eyes followed the action and his hand grasped my wrist to enable him to closely scrutinise my fingers. He lifted my hand to his nose and sniffed. A look of astonishment crossed his face. He stuck one finger in his mouth and rolled his tongue around it before pulling it out, a look of disgust on his face.

“Quite unusual. I can smell and taste vampire, yet you’re alive. Did your pack friends save you? It won’t do you any good now,” he grinned, “there are none left.”

“I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t have any friends,” I snorted.

He shook me violently. “Not mortal, no friend of the wolf … then what? Did a demon send you? Are you a messenger or a spy?”

I struggled to release myself from his grip.

“Look, I’m just a girl who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s the story of my life really.”

“Bah! I think we’ll need to take you back with us.”

He lifted me up off the ground in one fluid movement. I twisted and turned, trying to wriggle my way out of his grip, which tightened with each move I made.

A bird of prey circled overhead, screeching loudly and drawing attention to itself. Apart from the fighting it was the only other animal sound I’d heard since entering the forest. The vampire c****d his head to one side as though listening to something beyond my range of hearing.

“It appears we’re going to have to skip the interrogation. Someone is looking for you. My companions say we need to leave,” he smiled at me, “but a kiss before parting. I’m sure you’ll remember what this is like.”

And then there was pain.

The vampire’s lips locked onto my neck with leech-like efficiency. His hand released my wrist and fastened onto my upper arm, to stop me from struggling.

I could feel the blood draining away from my body, my life force — my essence — ebbing. It was all I could do, in that moment of absolute fear and terror, to raise my left hand and grasp his wrist.

The instant my fingers connected with his wrist he knew something had changed, that the balance of power was shifting. He could not pull away from me, the bloodlust having taken control, yet he could not stop what was happening to him.

With each passing second I felt stronger, though the fiery agony grew with the additional point of contact. My hunger and thirst were abating, but my exhaustion was growing. I needed to hold out as long as possible — until it was finished.

The intensity of the pain was such that my vision became clouded, the world taking on a red hue. The muscles in my back, arms and stomach tightened until they were afflicted by rapid spasms. The pain continued to grow as I heard two screams ringing in my ears — one clear and loud, the other muffled, then all was dark and it was only me with my pain.

After what felt like an eternity I heard an anguished voice, barely a whisper, “What have I done? What have I done?”

“Danny? My angel?” I called out weakly.

“I’m here,” he murmured in my ear. “I’m sorry.”

He lifted me gently and held me to his chest. I felt him shaking and thought I heard faint sobs.

“Don’t cry,” I whispered.

He didn’t reply, only held me closer to him, his head bent until it was touching mine. The darkness took me once again.